09 Jan The Attack of Cyberbullies

JUAN SAYS: While everyone was in uproar on the treatment of Direk Cathy Molina to one of the extras on the set of Forevermore, we found this post by Atty. Bruce Rivera very enlightening. It is true that many of us do not approve of the treatment of the “smaller people:” – the extras, the stuntmen, the crew – in showbusiness or even in the work place. But we should also see the different side of this story. The advent of facebook and the internet gave us a new battle ground to fight our battles. We rant and express our dismay, opinions etc. by taking it on cyberspace, and let the cyber bullies those who bully us. It has become a “kuyog” mentality where we ignite the fire of the bullies (those who are unsuspecting, with no knowledge about the issue, pero trip lang sumawsaw dahil sumawsay ang buong bayan) to fight our battles for us. We have become a generation of cry babies, getting the sympathy of those who are on social media, forgetting that we, ourselves have the capacity to stand up to bullies and say no to bullying.

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Here is the post of Atty. Bruce Rivera:

I was asked by several followers on my take on the shouting episode of Director Cathy Molina on an extra that has become viral because of a post on FB. So, I looked at the post and here is my take on the matter.

Life is hard. We have to deal with shit everyday including those we actually do not want to deal with. But that is how it is.

Was the act of shouting justified? I do not know. From a director’s standpoint, shouting may be a form of frustration, desperation or even a motivational tool. Directors work on a time frame so anything that exceeds from the allowable time is added expense. The stress of directing any film is tremendous. But I am not justifying her outbursts. It was an unfortunate incident that perhaps would give Direk Cathy a piece of humble pie.

But that is not what worries me. Tantrums in showbusiness are a normal occurrence. It is an industry that deals with artists, divas, self-loving people and ego. So, if you cannot stand to be berated and humiliated, then do not dabble at acting. Stay at home. Or better yet, go to church.

It is the whining generation we have become just because there is social media to act as our big brother and fight battle for us. If someone bullies us, instead of solving the problem ourselves, we go to social media and allow people to bully the bully. People who only listened to one side and make judgments.

I am a product of shouting, tantrums and bullies in my life. My high school teacher in UP once called me “bayot boang” or crazy faggot in front of everyone. It humiliated me. But I never whined or cried. Perhaps my teacher was frustrated because I could not operate the cassette tape. She did overstep her boundaries, but that is human frailty in someone’s desire to be better or produce a show that is outstanding. I never held a grudge because the shouting was never personal.

When I entered law school, I was exposed to bullies who intimidated, berated and sometimes, shouted at me for giving a wrong answer. I never understood the terrorism until I became a lawyer and realized; I am in a profession that deals with bullies on a regular basis. If I folded the time when my law professor humiliated me and told me to get out of San Beda for his own peace of mind, I would not be a lawyer and law professor. Hence, I would not have had the privilege of being in the same roster with the professor who uttered those words.

You see, when someone berates you, humiliates you and treats you like dirt, you will only cry injustice and ask the public to fight your battle if you cannot fight it yourself. If you are in such marginalized state and you do not have a voice, then I will gladly fight for you. But to go to social media and rely on the credulity of people to fight your issues everytime someone puts you down because you have free internet should not be encouraged.

Why? It makes us lazy to fight our own battles that we have become a generation of whiners whose expertise is in pointing out all the woes of society without doing anything to solve it. When I was bullied, I did not call on anyone to fight it. I worked hard, studied hard and created a life in a manner that I will never be bullied again. Guess what, I am still bullied because that is life. There are people who will always put you down. However, today, I can fight my buliies not because people fought with me but simply because I put myself in the same level as the bully.